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London’s grand central station

During the past few years, we train fans have formed the idea that railways might be on the point of a big comeback. The hope rests on the glories of our railway history, the envi-ronmental logic of rail and the unquestionable glamour of Eurostar, the first train for decades with the right arrogance about it. In November this year, all three will be celebrated, when St Pancras station - described in this erudite and readable book as a "wonder of the world" - becomes the terminus for the high-speed rail link to Europe.

St Pancras was built by the Midland Railway in the 1860s, when the ambition of our railways, if not yet their track mileage, was at its height. The station was constructed in two parts. Arriving passengers first saw the train shed, the railwayman's term for a station roof. The one at